Honey Gourami Swelled Up

[Cajun Charlie]

He (pointy back end of dorsal fin) has expanded in the stomach so much that looking head on he is twice as wide as he was a week ago.  Water tests okay.  He's in a heavily planted community 130 liter (~34.4 gallon) tank with tetras, mollies, platies, guppies, a clown Plecostomas, and a panda Corydoras.  What's going on?  Disease?  

I would post photos but I'm having user malfunction problems with my tablet, and can't log in with my phone even after a password reset.

[CKetchum]

Does he eat an omnivorous diet? Sometimes they can become constipated. Is he still eating? normal buoyancy? 

[Cajun Charlie]

Behaving normally, no signs of distress.  I feed a wide variety:  Tetra flakes, bug bites (top and bottom kind), fancy guppy food, micropellets, freeze dried blood worms, FD tubifex, FD daphnia, and two kinds of betta food.  I'm not sure of his appetite recently, but will observe more closely and post findings.

[Colu]

A picture would help with a diagnosis and when you say water test ok what exactly are your water parameters 

[Cajun Charlie]

Photos attached.  Will test water again and edit to add results.

Edited to add:  Used three different test kits, one ammonia only, two different brand multi.

Ammonia 0

For the multi test strips, different results are noted; same results are posted only once.

pH 7.0

nitrate 40-50

nitrite 0

carbonate 0-15

Chlorine 0

Iron 0

Copper 0

Gh 160-180

total alkalinity 0

 

 

 

Edited July 10, 2022 by Cajun Charlie
added water test results and two photos

[Colu]

He not looking good it's more than likely Dropsy we the the pineconing if the scales the most effective treatment I have found for Dropsy is kanaplex in food to treat any possible internal bacterial infection metroplex to dose the tank as it treats aeromonas a common cause of Dropsy and aquarium salt 1 table spoon for 2 gallons the salt will help reduce the fluid buildup I would Qarantine and treat him 

[Cajun Charlie]

Thanks.  Unfortunately I have no way to quarantine him:  no other tank, no place to put one, and no budget for it.  Looks like I dose the whole tank's food (including lots of livebearer fry?), and increase salt from the current tablespoon per five gallons.  Last nightI found a dead cardinal.  😞

Edited to add:  I have energies, bladder snails, Amanos, and red cherries.  Can they withstand medication and more salt?

😞

Edited July 10, 2022 by Cajun Charlie

[Colu]

Metroplex and kanaplex can to be stressful to shrimp and snails what you could do is get a plastic tote add a small sponge filter and use that as a Qarantine tank as for salt Amano and cherry shrimp can tolerate salt at the level I recommended also what's your ammonia level nitrates at 40-50 is at the higher end I like to keep mine at 20ppm

Edited July 10, 2022 by Colu

[Cajun Charlie]

No measurable ammonia.  I don't worry about nitrates since the tank is so heavily planted and I change five or ten gallons alternate weeks, with new water dosed with Prime, Flourish, Excel, API salt at a tablespoon per five gallons, and a small Wonder Shell.  New water drips in slowly via airline tube from a five gallon bucket on top of the canopy, while both the Fluval U3 and the undergravel power head are circulating.  I will have to figure how to quarantine, maybe five gallon bucket and cobble together bits and pieces of filter from the box in the garage; can't afford new plus meds, will just buy meds.